Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places
In the Quark and Grilka ' |image= |series= |production=40510-501 |producer(s)= |story= |script= Ronald D. Moore |director=Andrew Robinson |imdbref=tt0708566 |guests=Rosalind Chao as Keiko, Mary Kay Adams as Grilka, Joseph Ruskin as Tumek and Phil Morris as Thopok |previous_production= The Ship |next_production= Nor the Battle to the Strong |episode=DS9 S05E03 |airdate= 14 October 1996 |previous_release=(DS9) The Ship (Overall) Remember |next_release= Nor the Battle to the Strong |story_date(s)=Unknown |group="N"}} (2373) |previous_story= Remember The Swarm |next_story=Nor the Battle to the Strong }} Summary While having a drink with Dax, Worf is taken by the sight of Grilka, a Klingon woman, as she enters the station with Tumek and her guard, Thopok. Worf falls instantly in love, and watches, horrified, as Grilka kisses Quark. Grilka is Quark's ex-wife, thanks to a complicated marriage of convenience. Undaunted, Worf decides to pursue Grilka, and tries to capture her attention at Quark's. He is crushed when Tumek says that, since Worf is dishonored among Klingons, Grilka can never mate with him. Tumek then adds insult to injury by commenting that Worf's human upbringing shows he knows nothing about how to pursue a Klingon woman. Later, Quark asks Worf and Dax for help. Grilka has invited him to dinner in her quarters, and he has no idea what to do. Despite his feelings for Grilka, Worf offers some courtship pointers and the evening is a huge success. Quark thanks Worf enthusiastically for his help, commenting that Worf seems to have the key to Grilka's heart. Quark asks Worf to help him win Grilka and, seeing it as a chance to prove he knows plenty about Klingon women, Worf agrees. In a holosuite, Worf and Dax help Quark act out a Klingon battle scene, which bores Quark until he learns that the fight culminates with the male and female warrior joining in mad, passionate love. Later that night, after he and Grilka have apparently acted out the ritual on their own, Grilka and Quark share a romantic drink. Watching them outrages Thopok, and he challenges Quark to fight to the death. Quark's situation is hopeless — if he doesn't fight, he loses Grilka. If he does, he loses his life. But Dax has an idea. Worf uses a virtual control device to move Quark's body, effectively fighting for him. With the plan ready, Dax questions Worf about his attraction to Grilka and hints that he should pursue someone more attainable. Worf, however, is clueless to Dax's advances. Later, the battle begins, and with Worf hidden in a holosuite controlling Quark's every move, the Ferengi performs admirably — at least until Worf accidentally damages the virtual control device. Quark is left defenseless in the middle of the battle of his life. Quark stops the fight and, realizes he must come up with a solution, stalls. Pretending that Ferengi tradition demands that he make a lengthy speech about his beloved, he begins talking about Grilka, while Worf and Dax rush to fix the virtual control device. They are successful, and the fight is on again — Quark quickly knocks Thopok to the floor. But instead of killing his opponent, Worf has Quark deliver his sword to Grilka, allowing her to discharge Thopok while letting him retain his honor. Now alone, Quark and Grilka fall all over each other passionately. Elsewhere, alone with Dax, Worf finally succumbs to her advances, realizing that his ideal woman may have been in front of him all along. Errors and Explanations Nit Central # BrianB on Thursday, April 15, 1999 - 1:01 am: Dax says of Worf, she likes a man of contradictions. Well, that's Worf and the entire Klingon race in a nutshell. For instance, Worf tells Grilka's butler, Temok, that he has never pursued a Klingon woman and Temok says that Worf knows nothing of their women. Who is K'Ehlyr? Worf pursued her. Twice, if I'm not mistaken. Didn't they have a son named Alexander? When Riker, using Q powers (see TNG's Hide & Q), offered Worf a horny chick, Worf said, "STOP! She is from a world now ALIEN to me!" And said of Klingon sex, "...But I have no place for it here!" So... If Worf comes from a world now alien to him, then why does Dax sass Worf with "For a Klingon who was raised by humans, wears a Starfleet uniform and drinks prune juice, you're pretty attached to tradition." Hmm? Hmm? Hmm? Hmm? Murray Leeder on Thursday, April 15, 1999 - 12:38 pm: I think that it was implied pretty strongly that Temok meant some sort of ritualistic pursuit, to which Worf's courting of K'Ehleyr does not apply. Dan R. on Thursday, April 15, 1999 - 4:54 pm: Kehleyr was half human and did not act too much like a typical Klingon....... # Shirlyn Wong on Thursday, April 15, 1999 - 10:11 pm: Know what, I finally thought about this. Granted that Worf has taken up residence on the Defiant, but isn't it so easy for Quark to wander about the most powerful ship of Starfleet to find either Dax or Worf? The first time he arrives unannounced looking for Dax. The next time he's on the bridge without Worf knowing 'til late. I mean shouldn't the ship be off-limits just for security reasons? Since when did something like that ever stop Quark!? # Keith Alan Morgan on Tuesday, April 27, 1999 - 8:48 am: If I recall the episode The House of Quark correctly, Quark claimed he killed the Klingon in self-defense, and while Odo suspected he was lying it couldn't be proven. Also, I believe, the Klingon's brother threatened Quark's life if he dishonored the dead Klingon by saying his death was accidental. So how does Dax in this episode know for a fact that it was an accident that killed the Klingon? The truth may have leaked out after Grilka took charge, following the brother’s discommendation. # So Kahless and Lokara had their epic romance 1,000 years ago? That's interesting because in The Sword of Kahless, Kahless' sword was said to be 1,400 years old and that no one had been killed with it in a 1,000 years. So did Kahless' big romance happen when he was 400 plus years old after his last battle? Anything is possible with Klingons! # When describing her friend's house on Bajor, Kira says that the Hovana river can be seen from every room. Is this house placed in a bend in the river or what? Maybe it’s on the top of a hill, and the river passes by the bottom? # John A. Lang on Tuesday, December 02, 2003 - 9:59 pm: If "Nothing" is happening between O'Brien & Kira, why are they acting like "something" is happening? If Miles is REALLY REALLY in love with Keiko, he won't even THINK about cheating on her! Dan Gunther on Tuesday, December 02, 2003 - 11:22 pm: There is nothing happening in a physical sense, but Miles and Nerys are very much attracted to each other. It's perfectly normal, and while O'Brien may never act on those feelings, it still makes it very uncomfortable for the two of them. I know, I've been there. It's very difficult to act "normal" when there is a mutual attraction, even if nothing has, or will, happen. # John A. Lang on Sunday, September 10, 2006 - 4:05 pm: Seeing what happens in this episode, it makes me wonder why Grilka divorced Quark in the first place in The House of Quark LUIGI NOVI on Sunday, September 10, 2006 - 7:07 pm: She didn't think there was any long-term future for them as mates. # John A. Lang (Johnalang) on Monday, October 24, 2016 - 7:29 pm: Why does Grilka - a Klingon warrior female - need a bodyguard? Seniram Maybe it’s traditional and/or compulsary for the head of a Klingon House these days! Notes Category:Episodes Category:Deep Space Nine